Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman.
Starring: Emma Roberts, Dave Franco, Emily Meade, Machine Gun Kelly, Miles Heizer, Juliette Lewis.
Directing duo Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman who brought us the last most recent Paranormal Activities and probably most famed for Catfish, give us a rather illuminating adventure across New York City following participants taking part in a viral game which is sweeping across the city's hipster community where players take on dares to win money and watchers pay to spectate their favourite contestants. It's a radical idea but not so unbelievable like a purge.
Emma Roberts plays Vee, short for Venus who's having typical teenage parental issues and having a high-school crush on the popular boy. She's surprisingly introverted who falls out of her shell when peer pressure from all angles gets to breaking point which leads her on a daring and dangerous path of discovery and Ian...
It's the third time this year we see the charming, charismatic Dave Franco after Now You See Me and Bad Neighbours sequels, but can we trust his daring nature and out-going personality. Romance blossoms in the most unlikely places and expensive branded changing rooms is one of them. The two team up and share the night of dicey dares, but there's a limit and they certainly reach it, and are dared if not forced to cross it.
Can't really hear Rob Simonson's score who did amazing work for Age of Adeline and 500 Days of Summer, as it's pushed to one side by an encompassing soundtrack with songs from Holy Ghost!, Mø, Melaine Martinez, BØRNS and Halsey whilst introducing other tracks from up and coming artists like Sweetmates, Jess Kent, Hal Williams and Crystal Stilts. It's a mega soundtrack boasting nearly thirty tracks which certainly helps complete the film, however there's surprisingly nothing from Colson Baker (better known as Machine Gun Kelly) on the track-list who plays the punk-darer and main contender/competitor to the game.
The film makes the city look ultra cool and stylish with plenty of clever camera work which almost gives it an anime gloss with plenty of fruity product placement. It's very slick and neon-coated as the poster suggests, very well paced for 96mins but I don't think it could go any longer.
It's didn't feel like a movie and I'm unsure why, if it was the way it was shot or edited but it felt more like one of these viral TV series pilots which isn't meant disrespectful to either mediums. It does get nerve-wrecking at points but falls a little flat towards the end, becoming anticlimactic and me thinking this should end here, not being so keen on a sequel or worse still another Final Destination franchise. It's still good, worth the watch.
Running Time: 8
The Cast: 8
Performance: 8
Direction: 8
Story: 8
Script: 7
Creativity: 8
Soundtrack: 9
Job Description: 7
The Extra Bonus Point: 5 for being ultra-cool whilst keeping it real.
76% 8/10
